[SOLVED] Task Bar Flickers, Exactly every 10 minutes - 1:40, 1:50 2:00 etc

[Tim Stryker]

This started appx 2 days ago. Any time I am playing a game, or watching a video in full screen, at the exact second that the clock turns 30, 40, 50 after, etc - the task bar briefly overlaps whatever is currently on my screen & flashes / flickers for a brief split second at the bottom of the screen... I would say it lasts about 1/2 - 1/3 of a second when it does this... then another 10 minutes later happens again & keeps repeating every single 10 minutes around the clock... always at exactly 10 minutes.

It is driving me nuts here... I have tried numerous things to TS & diagnose this.

Ive run windows malicious software removal, malewarebytes & TDDS rootkiler. No issues found.

Ive Cleaned & cleared all cookies, cache, old registry files via CCleaner & have deleted temporary System folders.

Multiple PC restarts including powering off completely.

Running command prompt via admin doing:

sfc /scannow

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Checkhealth

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

Downloaded & ran Window Focus Logger, which does show when it happens as the program taking away focus as - conhost ....... I know this is a legit windows process but there can also be viruses with same name. I would think one of the programs I used would have found this though, if thats the case. Im thinking maybe there is a different program that is running & triggering this & it is reflecting as the conhost but isnt showing the true program?? The problem is trying to figure out exactly WHAT program it is... which is what I was hoping the focus logger would tell me...

I created a new user with admin rights & low & behold, the issue is NOT duplicated on the new user... which makes me wonder if somehow my current user got corrupted somehow?

All that being said, I guess what Im really asking for help on this is, any other ideas to try to see exactly what program might be causing this? Without having to go into safe mode & narrow out the programs one by one, as I have many programs & will take countless hours... Id think there would be an easier way of spotting this program since it happens every 10 minutes. Also, if I have to use a new user instead, I understand I can copy over the current user info BUT wouldnt that also possibly copy over the problem thats causing this? It also wouldnt exactly copy everything on my current user profile from what I understand & would still entail lots of tweaking & other stuff .

Have spent HOURS researching & trying numerous things. Any help or advice would be GREATLY appreciated.

In case it matters - OS 10 - I5 10th Gen - GTX Super 16 gigs ram.

 

[Colif]

Try a clean boot and see if it changes anything - make sure to read instructions and make sure NOT to disable any microsoft services or windows won't load right - https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/help/929135/how-to-perform-a-clean-boot-in-windows

if clean boot fixes it, it shows its likely a startup program. You should, over a number of startups. restart the programs you stopped to isolate the one that is to blame.

all clean boot does is stops programs running at start up, it doesn't remove any. You can easily restart them again.

You could look in schedules tasks to see if anything there set for 10 minutes.

Does it happen in safe mode?

I created a new user with admin rights & low & behold, the issue is NOT duplicated on the new user... which makes me wonder if somehow my current user got corrupted somehow?

it can happen and if making new user fixes it, it is easiest answer.
if you want new user to have same access as old one,
logon to broken user
copy the contents of its C:/USERS/User name folder onto the new users Username folder in same directory and it can access all the same files.
then all you need to do is logon to new, set up a few programs you may have had before (such as Onedrive if you used it) and just use that user.

I have had a corrupted user before. there isn't that much to swapping really.

I never had the problem happen again so it doesn't seem to copy everything

 

[Tim Stryker]

Thank you kindly for the prompt response... After exhaustive hours today I believe I found out exactly what was happening & the fix.

" You could look in schedules tasks to see if anything there set for 10 minutes. "

THIS ↑

I did look through there as one of the earlier TS steps, but am not well versed with it & didnt see anything stick out.

I later noticed a command prompt actually appearing every 10 mins & lasting for just 1/10th of a second, or less...so had to video record desktop right before it happened & was able to freeze frame & see the command path, which when I went there, that file was no longer there. Thinking I deleted it from previous scans.

I ran another program - https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/procmon - entered in the file name I got from the command prompt & voila, there it was listed, under scheduled tasks. I promptly unchecked & right clicked deleted that sucker. Apparently w/e I got into, not only DLd this file, but also set it up on task scheduler & it was still trying to run a deleted program.

Ever since deleting that from scheduled tasks, problem is now gone.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply.

 

[Colif]

following cmd could have taken a while since its used for almost everything

what was the task in case someone else gets same problem?